Pakistani airstrikes killed at least three civilians in Afghanistan on Monday, Afghan authorities said, as Islamabad separately claimed 28 militants and suicide bombers were killed in attacks on three targets.
Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistani forces bombed civilian areas in Kunar and Paktika overnight, killing “one woman and two men” and injuring four others, including two women.
“We condemn this aggression and oppression and consider it a continuation of previous crimes,” Mujahid said.
He accused Pakistan’s military establishment of carrying out the strikes to divert attention from what he described as security failures inside Pakistan, adding that the Afghan side would “respond appropriately to this aggression”.
At least one house in Kunar province was hit in the strikes, killing three members of the same family and injuring four others, Taliban deputy spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said in a post on X.
“In Barmal district of Paktika, two locations were bombarded, destroying one shop and one unoccupied house, with no casualties reported,” he said.
Pakistan later confirmed carrying out strikes inside Afghanistan, saying 28 “terrorists” and suicide bombers were killed at three locations.
In a statement, Pakistan’s Information Ministry said the “calibrated” strikes targeted “hideouts and safe havens of terrorist organisations” it blamed for recent attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The strikes came days after a series of deadly attacks on Pakistani forces and police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
On Sunday, six Pakistani security personnel, including two army officers, were killed in a gun battle with militants in Hangu district. Pakistan’s military said eight militants were also killed in the fighting.
Two days earlier, a suicide bomber targeted a mosque inside the Old Police Lines compound in Kohat before armed attackers entered nearby offices, triggering a gun battle that continued into Saturday.
At least 31 people, including 16 police personnel, were killed and more than 100 injured, a senior police official confirmed.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused armed groups operating from Afghan territory of carrying out attacks inside the country, allegations rejected by Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities.
The latest strikes come amid continuing diplomatic efforts to ease tensions between Islamabad and Kabul, with Turkish and Qatari officials holding talks with both sides in recent weeks.